Indian Philosophy and Religion

In ancient Indian philosophy philosophy and religion cannot be separated primarily because of the cultural integration of religious practices and mystical pursuits. For example ceremonies celebrating birth marriage and death performed with recitations of Vedic verses (mantras) were important for bonding within ancient Indian societies. Later different social practices developed. Thus the orthodox classical schools of thought are distinguished from nonorthodox classical schools by their allegiance to established forms of social practice rather than to the doctrines of the Veda. Buddhism for example constitutes much more of a break with Vedic practices than with the ideas developed in Vedic traditions of thought. In fact the Upanishads mystical treatises continuous with the Vedas foretell many Buddhist teachings. In ancient India religion did not entail dogma but rather a way of life that permitted a wide range of philosophic positions and inquiry. Mysticism the claim that ultimate truth is only obtainable through spiritual experience dominates much ancient Indian philosophy. This book has been intended as a manual for students of this subject. Contents: • Truth and Validity • Laws of Thought • Truth-Functions and Propositional Logic • Hinduism • Buddhism • Jainism • Sikhism